Thinking Errors in the MLs, GNs, Family member posts

Last weekend I read through quite a few MLs and GNs as part of a study on TFIs political beliefs. I've noticed that getting too immersed in these writings has had a strange effect on my mind. For me, it's become obsessional, like a tune I can't get out of my head that keeps playing on and on--even my dreams seem to be influenced by exposure to this crap.

As ridiculous as the content of these writings are, they also are very seductive. For people who believe in spirits, I would say there is a powerful dark spirit at work in these writings. I've had a dream or two where I confronted demons after reading too much Family lit. No doubt they're my own demons, which is interesting & instructive, but probably unecessary exposure to psychological suffering for a recovering masochist. Point is, I don't get these kinds of dreams from reading the Bible. "Whatsoever things are pure, whatsover things are good, think on these..."

For the more scientifically oriented, I'd say the magnitude of thinking errors in the MLs & GNs is so great that simply trying to understand what's being said causes a disturbing shift in cognitive processing. It's very much like falling through a rabbit hole into the land of magic mushrooms--to really understand Berg & Company's delusions, the reader has to temporarily accept their internal logic. Otherwise, it's just a lot of incomprehensible blather and babble. I can understand why many people in the Family tuned them out after a while. I can also understand why backsliders and the "spiritually weak" are required to read through the "milky" MLs. Although these ML's appear harmless & mainstream, they lay a foundation of thinking errors necessary for accepting the more outrageous teachings.

I found a website that has a cool Net School lesson plan on the topic of thinking errors. I'm constantly struck by how current SG Family members demontrate their apparent lack of a high school education in their online posts. The place most of people first learn how to identify thinking errors is in high school English classes while learning to write coherant, well-organized essays. Unfortunately, SGs in TFI learned to write by reading the MLs and GNs, and no one has taught them to recognize obvious thinking errors.

Here are ten of the more obvious thinking errors I've run across in reading MLs, GNs and the posts of current Family members:

1) Anger. Whenever Berg throws tantrum and goes ballistic about the g-d AC Jews, attention is on his rage rather than analyzing the content of what he says. Berg was bombastic to make a point about the Jews rejection of Jesus, but no one takes him seriously. It's not like we're out to kill the Jews. (This is also a minimalization.)

2) Somebody has to be blamed. Bad things happen to the King & Queen and TFI in general because of demonic attacks. Bad things happen to everyone else because of sin. Rick fell in with hateful Vandari, that's why he committed murder/suicide.

3) Rationalization. Lies that people tell themselves to avoid responsibility--such as, Rick's murder/suicide had nothing to do with the way he was raised. Or persecution of TFI is the consequence of living godly in Christ, not because of criminal activity like pedophilia or prostitution.

4) Minimalization. "Mistakes were made" as opposed to "crimes were committed." Get a grip--it's only a television program. Yes, we were wild radicals and pushed a few things to excess in the early days, but our intentions were good. A few misguided disciples took things the wrong way.

5) Egocentricism, or What I think is the absolute truth. Maria is humble and sacrificial because Berg said so.

6) Correlated events are taken for cause and effect. Berg prays for Khomeini's death. Khomeini dies. Therefore, Berg's prayer was answered. Maybe Khomeini died because it was his time to die? Maybe Khomeini died because George Bush Senior sent out a hit squad on a medical mission?

7) Avoiding The Hot Iron. Why don't you just get over the past and move on?

8) Hopovers. Also known as changing the subject. Was Merry Berg incested by her grandfather? Merry Berg was demon possessed and mentally ill.

9) Cockiness. We're some of the most effective, sold-old Christian missionaries on the face of the planet.

10) Fronting the Goodguy. Our good deeds outweigh our mistakes. Look at our the fruit of our good works--all the souls we lead to Jesus. This is also rationalization, because it rests on the erroneous assumption that if TFI disciples get someone to say the Sinners' Prayer, that person has in fact accepted Christ and/or become born again. Only God knows the truth about the salvation of a person's soul.

Location of site: www.d11.orgspringcreek

click buttons: education program
links: nontraditional curriculum, science of success, thinking errors